Author Archives: Shannon Stepp

About Shannon Stepp

My name is Shannon Stepp. I am a 34 year old high school teacher. I have been married for almost 14 years and have three children ages 12, 11, and 8. I spent two years homeschooling them and then decided to let them return to private school. My hobbies include writing, reading, and spending time with my family. Keeping up with them can be a full-time job! I enjoy teaching and really love working with high schoolers. They teach me as much as I teach them!

Teaching Fluency To Older Readers

It is no secret that reading is absolutely necessary in life. It can be very hard to get by in life without knowing how to read. Even the smaller things in life would be hard. Things like ordering off a menu or reading labels off of grocery cans at the store. Let’s face it – reading is a necessity! We have heard about reading tips for helping to build fluency in younger readers. But what happens when older students need to build fluency too? Here are some great tips for helping older students to build reading fluency: Partner reading is … Continue reading →

Reading Comprehension

Can children enjoy books even before they can read? Of course they can! It’s no secret that children absolutely love books. They love being read to and love looking at the pictures even more. But what if they didn’t know how to read? What if the book you were reading did not have any pictures? Are children still interested? As parents and as teachers, we are often guilty of only reading picture books or grade-level books to our children. What we often seem to forget is that children’s comprehension level is generally much higher than their actual reading level. In … Continue reading →

Back To The Basics – Teaching High School Students To Read

Teaching high school can definitely have challenges. My biggest challenge is something that perhaps you might not think of. The biggest challenge that most people think of is discipline. Believe it or not, discipline is not it. My biggest challenge as an English teacher in the Resource Department is reading. As sad as it is, most of my students can’t read. I find it incredibly sad that I have seniors that can’t read. Most of them do have some reading skills but can only read at about a second grade level. I hear people all the time blaming different people … Continue reading →

After-School Programs

After-school programs are popping up all over the place. In years past, local Boys and Girls Clubs or the YMCA offered most of these programs. Now, more and more schools are opting to offer these programs. The programs that are offered by local schools are often run differently than those offered by the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA. The key is who is funding the program and what their requirements are. The main concept behind programs run by the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA is to keep children off the streets thus keeping them safe. Social … Continue reading →

Block Schedules

I teach at a high school that has a block schedule. When I tell people this, they often ask me exactly what that means. A block schedule is when the classes are taught in a longer block of time rather than a typical period. In most high schools, there are 6 or 7 periods a day ranging anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour each period. At my school, we have three periods a day each lasting two hours. We have A days and B days that rotate. For example, on A days students attend periods 1, 3, and 5. … Continue reading →

Have Schools Gone Too Far With Their No Tolerance Policy?

Many schools, especially high schools, have enforced a policy they call “No Tolerance.” Basically, it states that anyone involved in a fight is suspended. In many schools, a fight consists of both physical altercations as well as verbal. Often times, the police are called out to make a report. I have to say, while I understand their point of wanting to crack down on violence and threats, I am not sure I am a big fan of this policy. Let me explain. I have a student who is a high school senior. He happens to have just turned 18 as … Continue reading →

Teaching in Special Education

First of all, let me express the fact that I love my job. I really do. Teaching is something that I wanted to do for quite some time. When I finally received my degree, I wasn’t sure what grade level I wanted to teach. I was aiming for junior high or high school; however, I didn’t know which one. In the end, I had several offers but one stood out more than the rest. It was an offer to teach special education at a high school about half an hour from my house. I had never thought about going into … Continue reading →

High School Students Taking College Classes

A growing trend for high school students is to take college-level courses at their local junior college during their junior and senior years of high school. This provides a great opportunity for students to get a jumpstart on their college-level general education requirements. Generally, students take mainly general education classes such as math, English, and science during their first two years of college. Getting these classes out of the way early can provide any student with a solid foundation. While I would not recommend doubling up on classes for those students who are already struggling to keep up with their … Continue reading →

High School – A Time Of Self-Discovery

High school students have a lot of pressure on them today. They are expected to know exactly what it is they want to do with the rest of their life. With all of this pressure, they often forget to slow down and explore their options. High school is a wonderful time to try new things and learn new skills. High school is all about new experiences and self-discovery. If your child is all stressed out about the rest of their life, they may miss out on the opportunity before them. There are certain requirements that every student must meet in … Continue reading →

Your Local Junior College – A Hidden Treasure

When I was in high school, I often heard other students say they couldn’t wait until they graduated. Simply put, they were tired of school. These desperate cries grew even louder in college. Most of my fellow classmates could hardly wait until they had finished school and could enter the workforce. I often wonder if they feel the same way now. I must admit that I, too, was one of those people who was eager to finish the day to day stress of school and wanted to hurry up and obtain a career that I actually liked. Now that I … Continue reading →